Chapter Three
POV
Mira
Whispers in the Wind
The next morning, I woke with heavy eyes and a restless heart.
My dreams clung to me like dew on grass—his voice, his touch, his claim. "Mine."
I tried to shake it off. Dreams were dreams, nothing more. Still, every breath, every glance, every sound felt… different, as if the world had shifted by a degree I couldn't measure.
'Is it the book am reading interfering with my dreams?
But I have been reading books on different genre, why am I feeling something has happen to me and I can't pinpoint it!
I slipped into my navy-blue suit, heels clicking against the tiles as I left my apartment. Abuja's air smelled of diesel and rain. Hawkers shouted, "Pure water! Gala!" as taxis honked. I tightened my grip on my bag, telling myself to focus. I had a board meeting to chair, investors to convince, contracts to sign.
Inside the cool, glass-and-steel headquarters of Dalesman+Mainstream Petro-Chemical Company, everything hummed with corporate energy. Phones rang, junior staff hurried past with folders, the scent of brewed coffee drifted from the executive lounge. This was my world.
Or it used to be.
By 10 a.m., the boardroom was full. Directors and advisors filled the leather chairs, laptops open, eyes expectant. On the video screen, foreign investors waited—Mr. Davidson from London, Mrs. Liu from Singapore.
Chief Okon broke the silence first. "Madam Mira, with all due respect, the Rivers State pipeline expansion is too aggressive. Investors are jittery. Global oil prices dey misbehave."
I sat straighter, eyes scanning the slides on the screen. "Chief, we've been in this business long enough to know Nigeria doesn't wait for perfect timing. If we hesitate, we'll lose the market. We cannot afford delay."
Mr. Davidson's crisp voice cut in from the screen. "Miss Mira, guarantees matter. What can you assure us of?"
I leaned forward, palms flat on the table. "That Dalesman+Mainstream keeps its promises. That's why we're Nigeria's fastest-growing petro-chemical firm. If we say the pipeline will deliver, it will deliver. And unlike other firms, we back our word with results."
A murmur rippled through the room. Beside me, Tunde, my finance manager, adjusted his glasses. "Madam, if we secure this deal, production rises 25% in a year. Na real game-changer."
But even as the numbers rolled, the graphs shifted, and the investors debated, I felt it—that pull again. That presence. Like golden eyes staring at me from somewhere just out of sight.
I blinked and, for the briefest second, caught a reflection in the boardroom glass—two burning eyes, molten gold, watching me.
I gripped my pen so hard it nearly snapped.
"You okay, Madam?" Tunde asked under his breath.
"I'm fine," I said quickly. "Let's move to the next slide."
But my voice trembled.
That afternoon, I met two Lagos-based investors—Mr. Akin, who boomed with laughter, and Mrs. Eze, who carried herself like a queen. Their life is non of my business but how much my company will make from them is my whole business.
"This pipeline isn't just about profit," I told them, sliding the proposal across the table. "It's jobs. It's community development. It's Nigeria's stake in the global market. When foreign partners hesitate, it's Nigerians like you who make the difference."
Mrs. Eze tilted her head. "Hmm. You talk like someone who believes in destiny, not just business."
For a second, her words hit me too deeply. Destiny.
I forced a soft laugh. "Maybe I do. But destiny means nothing without strategy." I don't believe my destiny can be link to a man-like "Alpha" the name alone is a supreme being as indicated in the bible, stories on supernatural are only seen in movies. 'Where is my illusions coming from!
I know fate exist but I don't believe mine is interwoven; because am from a different world!
They smiled, but my hands were trembling under the table.
Days blurred. Meetings. Signatures. Calls. Dreams. Always the dreams.
'Am moving toward something, and that thing is working his ways to me faster than expected, how can I connect things I see but never means anything but now my mind is driven to their details such as;
"A lone wolf on a billboard advertisement for an energy drink—its golden eyes too familiar".
'A stray dog on my street, stopping to stare at me with eerie stillness before slinking away.
'The dreams, growing more vivid, pulling me deeper each night.
Mama noticed. "You've been walking around like your spirit is elsewhere," she said one evening, handing me a plate of jollof rice. "Is it this travel matter you're arranging?" because making plans to live Nigeria is not easy and putting together documents needed on time is tiring.
I forced a smile. "Yes, Mama. Just the stress."
But it wasn't just stress. Something had claimed me, body and soul, and though I wanted to deny it, part of me longed for it.
I told myself America would fix everything. Florida would be my escape, my new beginning. Dalesman+Mainstream had already approved my travel papers for a business-development program in Miami. I clutched the folder with my documents, relief washing over me.
But as I left the office that evening, the wind rose suddenly, swirling red Abuja dust around my feet.
And faint, almost lost in the city's chaos, I heard it!
A deep, commanding whisper carried on the air:
"Soon."
I froze, clutching the folder to my chest, the word echoing inside me like a promise.
The Alpha King was closer than ever. And somehow, I knew
He would not stop until he found me.